The Emir of Bichi, Nasir Ado Bayero, in Kano State, has said he wished his daughter, Zahra, graduated from the university and stayed with him a little longer before getting married to Yusuf, the only son of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The wedding Fathia of Zahra and Yusuf is scheduled to hold on Friday, August 20 at the Emir’s Palace in Bichi.
However, the Emir told Daily Trust about his closeness to his children, adding that it was a difficult decision to marry off any of them.
He, however, comforted himself with a hadith from the Quran.
“I’m very close to my children, so sending away Zahra is also an issue for me, but we thank God.
“She’s a young girl, only 20; and she’s in her final year in the university studying architecture.
“I would have loved for Zahra to stay and finish her school and lived with me a little longer, but we cannot change what God has ordained, we can only pray and wish them a successful married life,” he said.
Perhaps the decision became more difficult for the monarch after having married off another of his daughters earlier in the year.
But the business tycoon turned monarch, who seats as Chairman of the Board of 9mobile as well as several other companies, said he took solace from the Hadiths, especially the part where the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, ‘When you successfully raise three daughters and marry them off, Allah will give you a place in paradise.”
“This is my prayer and hope that through them God will give me Aljanah,” he said.
In June, at least seven governors had visited the Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, the elder brother of Zahra’s father, to formalise plans for the wedding.
Also, the Emir of Bichi inaugurated a 145-man committee to facilitate a hitch-free wedding Fatiha between his daughter and Yusuf.
The committee will also organise the Emir of Bichi’s coronation, including his presentation of staff of office by the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje.
In a statement by the spokesperson for Bichi Emirate, Lurwanu Malikawa, the committee would be chaired by the District Head of Bagwai, Nura Ahmad (Madakin Bichi), with Abba Waziri (Falakin Bichi), as the secretary.
While inaugurating the committee, the emir, represented by the Madakin Bichi, charged its members to use their wealth of experience to ensure the success of the royal wedding.
Also, the statement noted that the wedding would hold on August 20 and the coronation was scheduled to hold on August 21 at the Emir of Bichi’s palace.
The young lovers, Yusuf and Zahra, met in the United Kingdom, where they both had their undergraduate studies.